Lantern Crafts and Singing Parade

Leith Community Growers are hosting a lantern craft and singing parade at Out of the Blue Drill Hall on Saturday 7 November, from 2pm to 6pm. It's an afternoon that starts with making and ends with a walk through the neighbourhood, and it's open to adults and children alike.

The whole thing takes its cue from St Martin's Day, a German autumn tradition of carrying lanterns through the dark. The first half of the afternoon is the making part: Alva and Hannah from Leith Community Growers will be there to help everyone put together upcycled lanterns from jam jars and colourful tissue paper. All the materials are provided, so you don't need to bring anything with you. After that, community singing leader Jane Lewis takes over, leading the group in songs for everyone to learn and sing together. Once the lanterns are lit, the crowd walks singing from the hall to the Leith Links Children's Orchard.

If you're not in the mood for the crafting, you can still get involved: the singing and the lantern parade run from 5pm to 6pm, and you can join in for that part alone without a reservation. It's a good way to see the parade without spending the whole afternoon on the jam jars.

The venue is the hub of Out of the Blue, an independent cultural social enterprise and one of Scotland's leading community and arts development organisations, which works to open up creativity to people facing barriers to it. The afternoon costs £5, and children need to be accompanied by a guardian. It runs from 2pm to 6pm at Out of the Blue Drill Hall, 36 Dalmeny Street, Leith, Edinburgh EH6 8RG.